Local MP honours Stokesley School students as results buck the national trend

Staff and students at Stokesley School have been celebrating outstanding GCSE and A-level results, securing their place in the top 100 non-selective state schools nationally.

Local MP, Rishi Sunak, recently attended their presentation evening to present students with a range of special awards and to express his pride in one of the local schools in his constituency.

There were prizes for a range of achievements including exceptional work in individual subjects, overcoming a challenge, triumph over adversity, creativity and services to the community. *

This year’s GCSE and A-level results were well above the national average with 83% of all GCSE grades at A*-C. At A-level, students achieved a 100% pass rate with 43% of all grades at A*or A and 66% A* to B grades.

In their GCSE results, 76% of students at Stokesley School achieved at least 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths, 34 with eight or more A and A* grades and 11 achieving eight or more A* grades. This was well above the national average which saw a 2% fall in overall grades.

Rishi Sunak MP praised the hard work of students and staff and the support provided by parents and governors. Mr Sunak also encouraged students to be inspired by the likes of Apple, Google and Facebook’s founders and be creative when considering their future careers. He said: “It’s one of the most incredible testaments to what happens when young people trust their creativity. Not one of these high-profile business people could have done what they did without a good education, but that education couldn’t take them the whole way. To achieve what they did meant having the self-belief to challenge convention and believe in their ideas. The ideas in our young people’s minds are probably the most precious resource this country has.”

Headteacher at Stokesley School, Catherine Brooker, said: “It was a pleasure to celebrate the achievements, talents and contribution of our students. When so many achieve at the highest level, the prize winners are truly exceptional, not only academically but in their attitude to learning and support of each other and the community.

“We are very proud of all these young people who have such a brilliant future ahead of them. Many of our A-level students have taken up places at university this autumn, in courses ranging from land management and medicine to engineering and English literature, while following on from our exceptional A level results, the majority of our Year 11 GCSE students will be returning to study in our sixth form – with 43% of all A Level grades at A*-A, this augurs well for our new sixth form students to build on their GCSE success.

“So many of our students produced glittering performances and we wish them all well as they embark on their higher education courses.”